Spreading like wildfire across the world, the highly contagious Omicron variant throws scientists and public health officials for a loop. Just when vaccines looked like they were getting a handle on the spread of the deadly novel cornavarious, the India-originated Delta variant became the dominant strain around the globe. Then came the South Africa-originated Omicron variant with its over 50 mutations, at least 30 in the spike protein, the contagious part of the virus. Emerging and rapidly become the dominant strain in South Africa, World Health Organization [WHO] said Omicron is multiplying faster than Delta and should become the dominant coronavirus variant in short order. Scientists and public health officials don’t yet have data on Omicron’s infectivity but for now looks greater than the Delta variant. When it comes to severity of symptoms, the verdict’s still out.
Reports from the South African Ministry of Health suggested that Omicron produced more mild symptoms that the Delta variant but research can’t yet discern whether or not that’s due to the young population infected. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical officer, said no one saw the Omicron variant coming but he’s not surprised. “We definitely saw variants coming. I think . . . what was not anticipated was the extent of the mutations in the amino acid substitutions in Omicron, which is really unprecedented,” Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper yesterday on “State of the Union.” Fauci was initially concerned that the current mRNA vaccines, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna would not protect against the Omicron variant. Fauci said it’s too soon to know the effectiveness of boosters on the Omicron variant, it looks like they do a good job of preventing serious illness.
Fauci said last week and current boosters are sufficient to stop Omicron from creating serious disease. But he wasn’t certain yet whether or not the mRNA vaccines prevented re-infection, something occurring at an alarming rate. Omicro seems to produce a high rate of so-called “breakthrough” infections in fully vaccinated and boosted patients, despite not developing severe illness. “It kind of came out of nowhere, where you have a virus that has 50 mutations, 30 of which are in the spike protein and 10 or 12 of which are in the receptor binding domain. I mean to me, that’s really quite unprecedented,” Fauci said, not sure what the next public health steps would take. President Joe Biden, 79, plans to address the nation tomorrow, telling the public that unvaccinated groups are especially vulnerable, while fully vaccinated people are more protected from serious illness.
Biden’s approval ratings stand a 44% according to the latest Real Clear Politics aggregate ratings. He hoped for better news with the virus but gets only uncertainty from medical and public health officials. With his Build Back Better plan languishing in the U.S. Senate because of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Biden’s approval ratings continue to drop, despite having the U.S. media behind him. When you think that the media was almost 100% against former President Donald Trump, it was no wonder he had abysmal approval ratings. But with Biden having the media behind him, the conronavirus and his economic agenda weigh on his approval ratings. Public looks frustrated with Biden’s management of domestic and foreign policy, not looking good for Democrats in next year’s Midterm elections. If trends continue, Democrats could lose the House and the Senate in 2022.
All the latest data on Delta led Fauci to believe that current mRNA vaccines can prevent the public from serious illness. Pfizer and Moderna announced they’re conducting trials on new Omicron-targeted boosters, something Fauci says isn’t needed yet. Center for Disease Congrol and Prevention [CDC] 52-year-old chief Dr. Rochelle Walensky issues new warnings about Omicron, asking the public to be extra cautious during the holidays. Hospital occupancy rates, including ICU beds, have been filling up, with the biggest surge in Covid cases still not hitting most communities. Walensky urged citizens to complete vaccines and get boosted when possible. No scientist or public healthy official knows the impact of Omicron on the U.S. health system. With Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) getting a breakthrough infection after getting boosted, Walensky worries about vaccine protection.
Fauci expressed doubt that the Omicron variant created more mild symptoms than the Delta or original novel coronavirus. “Because when you look at the Omicron and what it’s doing—the protection from it like a two-dose mRNA vaccine is quite good, particularly against severe disease. Fauci expressed concerns that once contracting Omicron, protection from the two-dose mRNA vaccines drops. “But when you get to Omicron, the protection significantly goes down,” Fauci said. Fauci encourages people to get fully vaccinated then to get the booster shot when eligible. “But the good news is when you boos someone, it goes right back up, and that the reason why there’s such an emphasis on the part of all of us,” Fauci said, encouraging boosters. One thing’s for sure, the next few months are going to be a bumpy ride for the economy as it digests what’s going to happen next with Omicron.
